Looking to get a AK 47

[glock212327]

I'm looking for a AK 47 what should i expect to pay? I was thinking Romanian wanting to pay no more than 450. Whats the best AK for around that price range. Thanks guys

 

[deadsquirrel]

where are you located?

 

[Yukon227]

Dunhams has WASRs for around that price, 2 mags and a bayonet included. Sometimes they are on sale for under 400

 

[Cannon762]

I just picked up a used Norinco Mak-90 for that price in great shape.

 

[JML]

Or you could buy a saiga and convert it.

 

[glock212327]

i'm in the hendrick county area. Ive heard that the wasr 10 have bent barrel issues this is true or is that a thing of the past.

 

[PTA grad]

My advice would be to ask the seller about any possible barrel issues and eyeball the hell of if before buying. Maybe talk em down a little bit too.

 

[indykid]

i'm in the hendrick county area. Ive heard that the wasr 10 have bent barrel issues this is true or is that a thing of the past.

First, check Bradis. They usually have a supply of various AK variants.

As for the WASR-10 having bent barrels, like the Beretta M9s and Glocks blow up all the time, and M16 won't fire more than a couple of rounds before jamming, and... Bent barrel WASR= unfounded internet legend.

 

[Cannon762]

First, check Bradis. They usually have a supply of various AK variants.

As for the WASR-10 having bent barrels, like the Beretta M9s and Glocks blow up all the time, and M16 won't fire more than a couple of rounds before jamming, and... Bent barrel WASR= unfounded internet legend.

A thousand times, this. I'm actually a big WASR fan. I'll copy and paste a post I made on Reddit guns not long ago that may help you a bit:

--------------------------------
Romanian stamped-receiver AK's are by no means the "junk" YouTube comments would have you believe. They're generally a little scratched up, and some of the older ones had a lot of common issues with fit of parts and gas-blocks/sights being canted etc. However, when I was looking for one (I don't have it anymore, but would buy another in a second) they seemed to have corrected all the issues that were more apparent.



Here's what to look for when looking at a Romanian AK:
Look at the side of the trigger. If it says "TAPCO", then you should keep looking at it. Century put the Tapco trigger groups in the newer ones to get rid of the trigger slap that was prone to occur in the older ones. Next look down the sights and carefully at the gas block. If they're straight, that's good news. If it's one of the dreaded "canted" sights or gas blocks you'll notice it instantly, it's not exactly subtle. Those are the main problems, though I'd still recommend field stripping it and giving it a peek to make sure it's in good shape, check the action etc. DO NOT WORRY IF THE BOLT STICKS BACK. It doesn't do that while shooting, and eventually goes away.


The next thing you're going to have to think about is how much work you want to put into it. It will shoot just fine right out of the box, and there's nothing wrong if that's what you want to do, however there are some recommended modifications (easy ones) that can really improve the action of the rifle, as well as drastically improve the aesthetics.
First is going to be polishing the bolt carrier and the bolt. Go to Wal-Mart and pick up some Mother's mag and aluminum polish in the automotive section and go berserk on the carrier (A Dremel makes short work of this). Check YouTube as well, there are a ton of videos on how to correctly polish both the bolt and bolt carrier. They get very shiny and very smooth, one thing that will help the bolt not to stick back when manually racking the slide, and it makes it look more similarly like the more expensive stamped AK's.


I'd also recommend refinishing the furniture. Grab some sandpaper, stain of you choice, and some gloss coat and you can make it look 100 times better in just an afternoon. Here's mine after I finished with it


Aside from that, it's an AK man. Grab some cheap ass ammo and some buddies and have a fun time blasting bottles, watermelons, etc. They're a ton of fun and require almost no maintenance, and if you go the Romanian route they're extremely affordable. I think I picked mine up new for $500. And if you take the time, it will be your new favorite house decoration. My favorite part about mine was hearing everyone freak out when they'd walk in my apartment and see it on the DVD shelf and try and argue about "how I was allowed to have that", etc.
Hope this helps, good luck.
---------------------------------------------------

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I'm going to say it, hate me it's ok, I would skip on anything imported by Century!

 

[Blackhawk2001]

I'm going to say it, hate me it's ok, I would skip on anything imported by Century!

Yah, you're just a Maadi snob!

Seriously, unless you want to order an Arsenal rebuild or some other custom build, the Century WASR is pretty much what you're going to find out there. This past weekend was the first time I've seen a Maadi for sale at the Indy1500. Also, prices have been going up; AKM clones that were available for $325 last year are now close to $400 new-in-box.

Another thing you might want to think about is what you plan to pay for ammo. Right now 5.45 x 39 ammo seems to be the cheapest (AK-74), but it's the least available outside of bulk purchases. 7.62 x 39 ammo is close and can be found at many sporting goods stores.

If you like the AK style but want it to be compatible with your other major rifle calibers, you can purchase a Siaga rifle/shotgun in 5.45 x 39, 7.62 x 39, .223, .308, .410, 20ga, and 12ga and convert it to AK-style for anywhere from $50 on up, depending upon how far you want to go. Saiga's are quality rifles in the AK world and cost about the same as a WASR, but are built by the same company in Russia that builds the rifles for the Russian military.

 

[mettle]

I'm looking for a AK 47 what should i expect to pay? I was thinking Romanian wanting to pay no more than 450. Whats the best AK for around that price range. Thanks guys

Consider an ak74. The ammo is 1080 rounds for $130 ish.

Buy a saiga, whatever you do. Great quality And lots of amenities other brands don't offer.

 

[fiveduece]

Picked up a norinco mak-90 with a milled receiver for that a few months ago. Had a dragunov stock already on it. Couldn't pass It up. So far been best shooting 7.62 I've owned. Good luck.

 

[tradertator]

Depending on how handy you are, the Saiga's are the way to go. The conversion is really simply and requires very few tools nowadays.

 

[Fordtough25]

A thousand times, this. I'm actually a big WASR fan. I'll copy and paste a post I made on Reddit guns not long ago that may help you a bit:

--------------------------------
Romanian stamped-receiver AK's are by no means the "junk" YouTube comments would have you believe. They're generally a little scratched up, and some of the older ones had a lot of common issues with fit of parts and gas-blocks/sights being canted etc. However, when I was looking for one (I don't have it anymore, but would buy another in a second) they seemed to have corrected all the issues that were more apparent.



Here's what to look for when looking at a Romanian AK:
Look at the side of the trigger. If it says "TAPCO", then you should keep looking at it. Century put the Tapco trigger groups in the newer ones to get rid of the trigger slap that was prone to occur in the older ones. Next look down the sights and carefully at the gas block. If they're straight, that's good news. If it's one of the dreaded "canted" sights or gas blocks you'll notice it instantly, it's not exactly subtle. Those are the main problems, though I'd still recommend field stripping it and giving it a peek to make sure it's in good shape, check the action etc. DO NOT WORRY IF THE BOLT STICKS BACK. It doesn't do that while shooting, and eventually goes away.


The next thing you're going to have to think about is how much work you want to put into it. It will shoot just fine right out of the box, and there's nothing wrong if that's what you want to do, however there are some recommended modifications (easy ones) that can really improve the action of the rifle, as well as drastically improve the aesthetics.
First is going to be polishing the bolt carrier and the bolt. Go to Wal-Mart and pick up some Mother's mag and aluminum polish in the automotive section and go berserk on the carrier (A Dremel makes short work of this). Check YouTube as well, there are a ton of videos on how to correctly polish both the bolt and bolt carrier. They get very shiny and very smooth, one thing that will help the bolt not to stick back when manually racking the slide, and it makes it look more similarly like the more expensive stamped AK's.


I'd also recommend refinishing the furniture. Grab some sandpaper, stain of you choice, and some gloss coat and you can make it look 100 times better in just an afternoon. Here's mine after I finished with it


Aside from that, it's an AK man. Grab some cheap ass ammo and some buddies and have a fun time blasting bottles, watermelons, etc. They're a ton of fun and require almost no maintenance, and if you go the Romanian route they're extremely affordable. I think I picked mine up new for $500. And if you take the time, it will be your new favorite house decoration. My favorite part about mine was hearing everyone freak out when they'd walk in my apartment and see it on the DVD shelf and try and argue about "how I was allowed to have that", etc.
Hope this helps, good luck.
---------------------------------------------------

Good info here! I have a Maadi and soon to have a Bulgarian AK74. I like my AK but 2 of my brothers have WASR's and they shoot great. I would pick up one myself if the right deal came along and th emag wobble wasn't too bad!

 

[sgreen3]

Ive been looking at the Ak74, I would consider one of them

 

[Blackhawk2001]

My second WASR AK has a bit of mag wobble with surplus mags, but the TAPCO and Thermold plastic ones work just fine in it, so I use the surplus mags in my other AK. No feed problems either way, though.

 

[kickbacked]

i handled one of the saiga ak's at the local store. Those things are really nice. I didnt think i could like an ak that much. But i think for the price of them id probably just end up getting an ar instead. I had a wasr and never had any issues with it. I am thinking about buying another soon

 

[MilitaryArms]

While I would never buy a WASR 10 sight unseen, if I had the chance to inspect it before buying it to make sure the various problems they're known for having weren't present in that particular rifle, I would pick one up. That's assuming I couldn't find the extra $300 or so necessary to buy an Arsenal, which is a vastly superior rifle.

Also, when checking a Century product for fleas don't forget to check the build date. All Century rifles come with a tag on the trigger guard that shows the date of manufacture. This is the date your warranty started. If it was built 6 months ago, you have 6 months left on your warranty. I bought a Century rifle that was 13 months old not realizing this and when it had problems, Century refused to warranty the rifle claiming it was out of warranty.

As a general rule I tell people to avoid doing business with Century as they're unscrupulous. However, if you're on that tight of a budget and can't find a few hundred extra to buy a higher quality rifle, then just be very careful and go into the transaction aware you can get stung.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

While I would never buy a WASR 10 sight unseen, if I had the chance to inspect it before buying it to make sure the various problems they're known for having weren't present in that particular rifle, I would pick one up. That's assuming I couldn't find the extra $300 or so necessary to buy an Arsenal, which is a vastly superior rifle.

Also, when checking a Century product for fleas don't forget to check the build date. All Century rifles come with a tag on the trigger guard that shows the date of manufacture. This is the date your warranty started. If it was built 6 months ago, you have 6 months left on your warranty. I bought a Century rifle that was 13 months old not realizing this and when it had problems, Century refused to warranty the rifle claiming it was out of warranty.

As a general rule I tell people to avoid doing business with Century as they're unscrupulous. However, if you're on that tight of a budget and can't find a few hundred extra to buy a higher quality rifle, then just be very careful and go into the transaction aware you can get stung.

If it's all you can afford, just make sure you look it over really well. Honestly though, I would save up and buy something of better quality.